186 results
The importance of the supervisor for the mental health and work attitudes of Australian aged care nurses
- John Rodwell, Angela Martin
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- International Psychogeriatrics / Volume 25 / Issue 3 / March 2013
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- 19 November 2012, pp. 382-389
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Background: The work attitudes and psychological well-being of aged care nurses are important factors impacting on the current and future capacity of the aged care workforce. Expanding our understanding of the ways in which the psychosocial work environment influences these outcomes is important in order to enable organizations to improve the management of human resources in this sector.
Methods: Using survey data from a sample of 222 Australian aged care nurses, regression analyses were employed to test the relative impact of a range of psychosocial work environment variables derived from the demand-control-support (DCS) model and organizational justice variables on satisfaction, commitment, well-being, and depression.
Results: The expanded model predicted the work attitudes and well-being of aged care nurses, particularly the DCS components. Specifically, demand was related to depression, well-being, and job satisfaction, job control was related to depression, commitment, and job satisfaction, and supervisor support and interpersonal fairness were related to well-being. The contributions of informational and interpersonal justice, along with the main and interaction effects of supervisor support, highlight the centrality of the supervisor in addressing the impact of job demands on aged care nurses.
Conclusion: Psychosocial variables have utility beyond predicting stress outcomes to the work attitudes of nurses in an aged care setting and thus present further avenues of research for the retention of nurses and improved patient care.
Preface and Acknowledgements
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- By John Rodwell, Lancaster University
- Edited by J. S. Rodwell, Lancaster University
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Summary
The appearance of this fifth volume of British Plant Communities brings to a close the publication of the National Vegetation Classification and, as Coordinator of the project, it is my privilege to put on record the gratitude of the whole research team and my own personal thanks to all who have been instrumental in the completion of the work.
For this volume, we were extremely fortunate in having access from the outset to the data which Dr Paul Adam had energetically assembled for his postgraduate research at Cambridge University into British saltmarsh vegetation. Extensive in its coverage and already developed into a classification scheme with highly informative vegetation descriptions, this work obviated the need for any further detailed survey on our part and more than laid a foundation for our own scheme. Such additional data as we did collect to fill any gaps was also supplemented by local surveys by Dr Pat Doody and Margaret Hill of the then NCC, Dr Malcolm Carter and Dr Judith Roper-Lindsay. In integrating this into the NVC framework and reviewing the progress of our synthesis Paul Adam continued to give of his time and expertise without demur.
For sea-cliffs we were equally blessed in inheriting large quantities of data from Andrew Malloch whose geographical and floristic coverage of this difficult and neglected habitat was adventurously wide and whose knowledge of the plant communities and their environmental relationships was second to none.
A8 - Nuphar Lutea Community
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Summary
Synonymy
Floating-leaf association Pallis 1911 p.p.; Nuphar lutea-Lemna vegetation Tansley 1911; Myriophyllo-Nupharetum Koch 1926 p.p.; Nymphaeetum albo-luteae Novinski 1927 p.p.; Sagittaria-Nuphar vegetation Butcher 1933 p.p.; Potameto-Nupharetum Müller & Gors 1960; Nuphar lutea society Spence 1964.
Constant species
Nuphar lutea.
Rare species
Nuphar pumila, N. x spennerana, Nymphoides peltata.
Physiognomy
Like Nymphaea alba, Nuphar lutea has been widely planted as an ornamental aquatic throughout lowland Britain, and it figures as a sparse occasional in a variety of vegetation types of open waters, but the Nuphar community includes all those stands in which its submerged and floating foliage, put up annually in the spring, makes up a substantial proportion of the cover. Much of the vegetation is species-poor, consisting of little else apart from N. lutea, and even where its associates are more numerous and consistent it is hard to know whether the assemblages are wholly natural because of the frequent introduction of the plant. Some stands, mostly in southern Britain, also have N. alba: indeed, almost all vegetation with both the species is closer to the Nuphar community than the Nymphaeetum. Most records for our other native yellow water-lily, the rare Continental Northern Nuphar pumila, a plant largely confined to Scotland with us, seem to be with the Nuphar community too. And a very few sites have the hybrid N. x spennerana, which persists in some places in the apparent absence of N. pumila (Heslop-Harrison 1955c). Another rarity, Nymphoides peltata, is to be found, again probably sometimes planted, in stands in southern England (Perring & Walters 1962, Perring 1968): with its yellow flowers, it can be taken for N. lutea at a distance, though these are bunched in fascicles in Nymphoides and the petals are fringed.
Few other species occur with any consistency throughout the community, but Elodea canadensis (rarely, it seems, E. nuttallii) can be very common and abundant beneath the canopy of floating leaves and, in the different kinds of Nuphar stand, a range of other aquatics enriches the various elements of the vegetation. Quite often, for example, there are fragments of a duckweed mat occurring among the lily pads, with Lemna minor being particularly frequent, and other floating-leaved plants, notably Polygonum amphibium and, rather less commonly, Potamogeton natans, sometimes contribute to the surface cover.
S25 - Phragmites Australis-Eupatorium Cannabinum Tell-Herb Fen
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Summary
Synonymy
Fen Formation Tansley 1911 p.p.-, Scirpo-Phragmitetum Koch 1926 p.p.; Valley fen communities Bellamy & Rose 1961 p.p.; Phragmites valley fen Haslam 1965; Angelico-Phragmitetum australis Wheeler 1980a, not sensu Ratcliffe & Hattey 1982.
Constant species
Eupatorium cannabinum, Galium palustre, Phragmites australis.
Rare species
Thelypteris palustris.
Physiognomy
The most consistent feature of the rather variable vegetation included in this community is the prominence of tall herbaceous dicotyledons among which Eupatorium cannabinum, Angelica sylvestris, Lythrum salicaria, Cirsium palustre, Valeriana officinalis, Iris pseudacorus, Filipendula ulmaria and Epilobium hirsutum are the most frequent throughout. Those other tall herbs so characteristic of the Peucedano-Phragmitetum, Peucedanum palustre and Lysimachia vulgaris, are rare and the patchy dominance of more nutrient-demanding species typical of the Phragmites-Urtica fen is uncommon. Here, a variety of monocotyledons may be dominant. Phragmites australis is constant throughout and is often the most abundant species, but, in some stands, Carex paniculata or Cladium mariscus dominate and, more rarely, Carex elata, C. riparia or C. acuta may attain prominence.
Beneath, there is often some Juncus subnodulosus, although the amount of this is very variable, and a variety of small herbs, among which Mentha aquatica and Caltha palustris are the most frequent. Galium palustre is a constant sprawler with, less commonly, Vicia cracca, Solanum dulcamara and Calystegia sepium. Bryophytes are rarely abundant but there is occasionally a little Calliergon cuspidatum and Brachythecium rutabu-lum. In some sub-communities, saplings of Salix cinerea or Myrica gale bushes are conspicuous.
Sub-communities
Phragmites australis sub-community: Angelico-Phragmitetum typicum and juncetosum subnodulosi Wheeler 1980tz. Here, Phragmites is usually the dominant, forming a canopy 1-2 m tall, although E. cannabinum and E. hirsutum can both be locally abundant. Denser stands of reed are rather species-poor but where the cover is more open there are small amounts of the tall and short herbaceous dicotyledons of the community and frequently a little J. subnodulosus. Here, too, Lychnis floscuculi, Equisetum fluviatile and E. palustre occurs occasionally and sprawlers are sometimes conspicuous with Vicia cracca, Calystegia sepium, Galium uliginosum and Lotus uliginosus. Calliergon cuspidatum and Brachythecium rutabulum may be prominent over litter and damp patches of bare substrate.
A22 - Littorella Uniflor A-Lobelia Dortmanna Community
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Summary
Synonymy
Littorella-Lobelia associes Pearsall 1918; Eleocharitetum acicularis Koch 1926 p.p.; Isoeto-Lobelietum (Koch 1926) Tx. 1937 p.p.; Eleocharitetum multicaulis Tüxen 1937 p.p.; Juncusfluitans-Lobelia dortmanna and Lobelia dortmanna associations Spence 1964; Littorella uniflora-Lobelia dortmanna Association Birks 1973; Eriocaulo-Lobelie turn Br.-Bl. & Tx. 1952 sensu Birse 1984.
Constant species
Littorella uniflora, Lobelia dortmanna.
Rare species
Elatine hexandra, Eleocharis acicularis, Eriocaulon septangulare, Isoetes setacea, Subularia aquatica.
Physiognomy
The Littorella uniflora-Lobelia dortmanna community comprises open or closed swards of submerged or temporarily emergent vegetation, usually less than 10 cm tall, dominated by gregarious rosette plants with linear or subulate leaves. The commonest of these is Littorella uniflora, particularly obvious in younger stands and in shallower, wave-churned waters, sometimes sparsely scattered over stony ground, but often dominant in fine densely-packed lawns. Lobelia dortmanna is the only other constant and it, too, can grow in quite luxuriant profusion here, frequently exceeding Littorella in more sheltered, somewhat deeper waters, and revealing its presence in mid-summer with its emergent racemes of attractive lilac flowers. It is, though, not so widely distributed geographically as Littorella and is altogether absent from those fragmentary stands of the community found in southern England.
Also quite common throughout the range of this vegetation is Juncus bulbosus, often occurring in its freefloating form and sometimes forming thick tangles of slender shoots, but no other associate is frequent overall. Thus, there are occasionally some emergent shoots of Carex rostrata, Equisetum fluviatile and, in shallower waters, Eleocharis palustris and the more local E. multicaulis, but increased frequency and cover of these plants usually marks a shift to swamp vegetation. Likewise, there can be some Myriophyllum alterniflorum but this is strongly associated with stands in deeper and less turbulent waters, where the occasional presence of Isoetes lacustris or, more locally, I. setacea marks a transition to the zone in which these quillworts become dominant.
Other plants which occur sparsely through the community are Scirpusfluitans, which is often difficult to see when floating among masses of J. bulbosus, and Baldellia ranunculoides, the emergent leaves of which often get abraded by wave action.
Index of Synonyms to Aquatic Communities, Swamps and Tall-Herb Fens
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S19 - Eleocharis Palustris Swamp Eleocharitetum Palustris Schennikow 1919
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Summary
Synonymy
Eleocharis palustris consocies Pearsall 1918.
Constant species
Eleocharis palustris.
Physiognomy
The Eleocharitetum palustris is dominated by an open or closed cover of the slender shoots of Eleocharis palustris. There are no other species frequent throughout.
Sub-communities
Eleocharis palustris sub-community: Eleocharis palustris Community Birse 1980. Here are included pure and species-poor stands in which E. palustris is overwhelmingly the most abundant species. Alismaplantago-aquatica, Mentha aquatica, Myosotis laxa ssp. caespitosa and Ranunculusflammula occur occasionally and a variety of other water-margin species at very low frequency.
Littorella uniflora sub-community: Eleocharis palustris-Littorella sociation Spence 1964. In this sub-community Littorella uniflora forms a diminutive understorey to the E. palustris, sometimes with a little Lobelia dortmanna. There is frequently some emergent Equisetum fluviatile and floating Juncus bulbosus and aquatics such as Potamogeton natans and Myriophyllum alterniflorum occur occasionally.
Agrostis stolonifera sub-community: Eleocharis palustris-Agrostis stolonifera nodum Adam 1981. Here, Agrostis stolonifera and, less frequently, Potentilla anserina, form a sometimes extensive low mat beneath the E. palustris and there are occasional records for species characteristic of the Juncetum gerardi: Festuca rubra, Juncus ger ar di, G faux maritima, Triglochin maritima and Trifolium repens. Eleocharis quinqueflora may be locally prominent.
Habitat
The Eleocharitetum is a swamp of standing or running waters up to 50 cm deep and it occurs round large lakes, small ponds and along stream sides. The sub-communities show some relationships to substrate type and trophic state of the waters. The Eleocharis sub-community occurs over various substrates including silts in mesotrophic conditions; the Littorella sub-community is more characteristic of sandy or stony substrates in more oligotrophic waters and is common around the shores of some Scottish lakes; the Agrostis subcommunity occurs in brackish and saline habitats on upper salt-marshes.
Zonation and succession
The community can occur as the distal component of swamp and fen zonations in open-water transitions. The Littorella sub-community is commonly found in such situations over sand and gravels around exposed shores in some Scottish lakes (Spence 1964). Here, it grades in deeper water to submerged vegetation with combinations of L. uniflora, Lobelia dortmanna and Juncus bulbosus. In other cases there is a front of the Scirpetum lacustris in deeper water. Inshore, this sub-community can give way to the Caricetum rostratae, the Caricetum vesicariae, the Phragmitetum australis or the Phafaridetum arudinaceae (e.g. Pearsall 1918).
S13 - Typha Angustifolia Swamp Typhetum Angustifoliae Soó 1927
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Summary
Synonymy
Typha angustifolia reedswamp Pallis 1911; Typhetum angustifoliae Tansley 1939; Typhetum angustifoliolatifoliae (Eggler 1933) Schmale 1939 p.p.; Scirpeto-Phragmitetum medioeuropaeum (Koch 1926) R.Tx. 1941 p.p.; Scirpetum lacustris Chouard 1924 sensu Passarge 1964 p.p.; Typha angustifolia society Wheeler 1978; Typha angustifolia emergent stands Meres Survey 1980.
Constant species
Typha angustifolia.
Rare species
Elatine hexandra, E. hydropiper.
Physiognomy
The Typhetum angustifoliae is almost always dominated by T. angustifolia which forms an open or closed canopy of gregarious stout shoots usually about 2 m tall. Although the community has been recorded as a floating marginal mat (e.g. Sinker 1962), the rhizomes seem normally to be buried in the topmost layers of substrate: Lambert (1951) rarely encountered floating stands along the Bure and these seemed to be less vigorous than firmly anchored vegetation and to have perhaps originated by interference. In Broadland, T. angustifolia has been shown to attain a maximum shoot density rapidly, within a month of shoot emergence in April, with a subsequent decline due to self-thinning and an increase in size of the survivors. Dead shoots were observed to stand for up to two years, although most had collapsed within a year of death (Mason & Bryant 1975).
Stands are often pure, rarely rich in species and show little consistency in associates. Other reedswamp dominants such as P. australis, T. latifolia and Glyceria maxima may be locally prominent and there are sometimes scattered sprawls of Solanum dulcamara and Calystegia sepium, clumps of tall herbs such as Phalaris arundinacea and Epilobium hirsutum and occasionally small emergents such as Mentha aquatica and Alisma plantago-aquatica. Rooted and free-floating aquatics may gain a hold between the stools or persist along the advancing outer margins of stands. Lemna minor and L. trisulca may be abundant here with Polygonum amphibium, Potamogeton natans, P. pectinatus, Elodea canadensis and Myriophyllum spicatum. The rare waterworts, Elatine hexandra and E. hydropiper, have been recorded in the community as submerged mats or sprawls on damp silt.
Habitat
The community is characteristically found in standing or slow-moving, neutral to basic, lowland waters with silty substrates, around the margins of lakes and ponds and in dykes. This is very much the same habitat type as that of the Typhetum latifoliae but the two dominants seem rarely to occur together and T. angustifolia is perhaps more tolerant of less eutrophic conditions than is T. latifolia.
A16 - Callitriche Stagnalis Community
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Summary
Synonymy
Swift-moderate current vegetation Butcher 1933 p.p.
Constant species
Callitriche stagnalis.
Physiognomy
All the starwort vegetation sampled has been grouped in this Callitriche stagnalis community, usually dominated by C. stagnalis, occasionally accompanied or locally replaced by C. platycarpa or, in southern Britain, C. obtusangula. Sometimes the plants grow fully submerged, though there are usually at least some shoots trailing to the water surface and, where pools or streams periodically dry out, the vegetation may persist for some time on the moist ground. Maximum growth is generally attained early in the season, but total cover is very variable: many stands are small, but dense luxuriant growth can occur in congenial situations, while just sparse shoots remain in unstable habitats. Colonisation of new sites can be very rapid and, once well established, populations can be long-lived but, in temporary water bodies or disturbed situations, like spatey streams or frequently cleared dykes, stands may be ephemeral.
This kind of vegetation is found in close association with a variety of other aquatics, but associates actually growing within thicker stands are few in number and usually of low cover. In some situations, Potamogeton pectinatus becomes a constant feature and it may occur abundantly among the Callitriche but, otherwise, there are generally just occasional shoots of Myriophyllum spicatum, M. alterniflorum and Ceratophyllum demersum, with a few thalli of Lemna minor sometimes caught among the floating shoots.
Sub-communities
Callitriche spp. sub-community. Starworts are the sole dominants here, with C. stagnalis constant and occasional C. platycarpa or C. obtusangula but no P. pectinatus.
Potamogeton pectinatus sub-community. P. pectinatus becomes constant here and it can have quite high cover, with C. stagnalis the only starwort.
Habitat
The C. stagnalis community can be found throughout lowland Britain in a variety of more shallow open waters with but sluggish flow or none, as in dykes, canals, ponds and even periodically rain-filled track ruts, and in such habitats conditions can be eutrophic with the substrates often of silt or clay. It is more distinctive, though, in quite fast to very swift, sometimes seasonal or spatey, waters in streams with sandy or gravelly beds, base-rich in those rarer situations where such conditions are met in the south-east of the country, more acidic and impoverished through the upland fringes of the west and north, where they become very common.
A4 - Hydrocharis Morsus-Ranae-Stratiotes Aloides Community Azolla Filiculoides in Aquatic Vegetation
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Summary
Synonymy
Stratiotes aloides vegetation Pallis 1911, Ellis 1939, Lambert & Jennings 1951, Lambert 1965, all p.p.; Hydro charité tum morsus-ranae van Langendonck 1935 p.p.’, Hydrocharito-Stratiotetum (van Langendonck 1935) Westhoff 1946 p.p.', Ceratophyllum-Stratiotes nodum Wheeler & Giller 1982.
Constant species
Callitriche platycarpa, Ceratophyllum demersum, Hydrocharis morsus-ranae, Lemna minor, L. trisulca, Polygonum amphibium, Stratiotes aloides, Utricularia vulgaris.
Rare species
Myriophyllum verticillatum, Stratiotes aloides.
Physiognomy
The Hydrocharis morsus-ranae-Stratiotes aloides community has a usually abundant submerged element comprising luxuriant masses of Ceratophyllum demersum with Utricularia vulgaris and quite often some of the rare Myriophyllum verticillatum. Callitriche platycarpa occurs very frequently in small amounts and there is commonly a little Elodea canadensis and occasionally some Potamogeton obtusifolius or the rare Ceratophyllum submersum. Another rarity, Stratiotes aloides, is now particularly associated with this kind of vegetation within its much contracted range, and its striking large rosettes of rigid leaves can be quite abundant here. They remain submerged for much of the time, rising to the surface at flowering, but reproduction is by offsets in this country, male plants being very scarce and fruit never set (Clapham et al. 1962).
Floating above this layer is a surface mat of Hydrocharis morsus-ranae, Lemna minor, L. trisulca, Polygonum amphibium and Nuphar lutea, often mixed in with an abundant algal scum, mainly Rhizoclonium. Occasionally there are some emergent shoots of Poten-tilla palustris, Hottonia palustris, Berula erecta, Oenanthe aquatica, Sparganium erectum, Nasturtium officinale, Sium latifolium, Alisma plantago-aquatica or Sagittaria sagittifolia.
Habitat
The Hydrocharis-Stratiotes community is a very local vegetation type of mesotrophic, calcareous standing waters. It seems now to be restricted to a few localities, mostly in Broadland, though similar vegetation appears to have been more common there are one time, and perhaps occurred scattered through eastern England in the past.
In their study of the Catfield and Irstead fens in the Ant valley in Norfolk, Wheeler & Giller ( 1982Z?) showed that this community was most characteristic of those parts of the closed internal dyke system nearer to the fen margins, where there was direct or indirect influx of land-drainage waters and a shift from the deep peat of the fen basin to a mineral substrate. Chemical analysis of both waters and sediments there revealed higher levels of inorganic nitrogen (mainly nitrate) than in the more central areas of the fens, and slightly, but significantly, greater concentrations of calcium and magnesium throughout the year.
S22 - Glyceria Fluitans Water-Margin Vegetation Glycerietum Fluitantis Wilczek 1935
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Summary
Constant species
Glyceria fluitans.
Physiognomy
The Glycerietum fluitantis is dominated by a low mat or floating carpet of Glyceria fluitans, sometimes continuous and very species-poor, in other cases as a more open cover with a variety of associates, some of which may attain local prominence. No other species reaches even occasional frequency throughout but the most usual associates are plants of shallow water margins such as Alisma plantago-aquatica, Myosotis scorpioides, Apium nodiflorum and Eleocharis palustris.
Sub-communities
Glyceria fluitans sub-community. This sub-community includes pure or very species-poor stands in which G. fluitans forms an often thick and lush mat. Lemna minor is the only frequent associate.
Sparganium erectum-Mentha aquatica sub-community. Sparganio-Glycerietum fluitantis Br.Bl. 1925. Here, there is a usually more open cover of the dominant among clumps of Typha latifolia, Sparganium erectum, Nasturtium officinale and Carex otrubae with scattered plants of Mentha aquatica, Myosotis scorpioides, Alisma plantago-aquatica and Rumex crispus.
Alopecurus geniculatus sub-community: Washlands and wet alluvial meadows Ratcliffe 1977 p.p.. Alopecurus geniculatus is often abundant and sometimes co-dominant in this sub-community and there is occasionally a little Poa trivialis. Rumex crispus is preferentially frequent here.
Habitat
The community is characteristic of shallow, standing or sluggish, mesotrophic waters and fine mineral sub
strates and is commonly found around ponds and wet depressions in fens and pastures and on the margins of dykes and small streams. The Glyceria sub-community includes stands where a quaking mass of G. fluitans extends out into small areas of sometimes deeper open water in fens or in other undisturbed situations where the dominant can pre-empt a niche and spread. The Alopecurus sub-community is more restricted to shallower waters and occurs around the gently sloping silty margins of ponds and pasture hollows. The Sparganium-Mentha sub-community is an often narrow and fragmentary community where G. fluitans gains a hold among more robust swamp species on stream sides and around pond edges.
G. fluitans is a succulent and palatable grass which is avidly eaten by stock and herbivorous wildfowl. On the Fen washlands, this community formed part of the swamp/grassland mosaics traditionally maintained by winter flooding and summer grazing and now surviving largely on the Ouse Washes where they provide valuable grazing for a variety of bird populations. Poaching by stock can break up the cover of the community and perhaps aid its spread by the trampling in of broken stems which readily re-root in moist ground.
Key to Swamps and Tall-Herb Fens
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Summary
With something as complex and variable as vegetation, no key can pretend to offer an infallible short cut to diagnosis. The following should therefore be seen as a crude guide to identifying the types of swamps and tailherb fens in the scheme and must always be used in conjunction with the data tables and community accounts. It relies on floristic (and, to a lesser extent, physiognomic) features of the vegetation and demands a knowledge of the British vascular flora and some bryophytes and lichens. It does not make primary use of any habitat features, although these can provide a valuable confirmation of a diagnosis.
Because the major distinctions between the vegetation types in the classification are based on inter-stand frequency, the key works best when sufficient samples of similar composition are available to construct a constancy table. It is the frequency values in this (and in some cases, the ranges of abundance) which are then subject to interrogation with the key. Many of the questions are dichotomous and notes are provided at particularly difficult choices or where confusing mosaics and zonations are likely to be encountered.
Samples should always be taken from homogeneous stands and be of 4 × 4 m or 10 × 10 m according to the scale of the vegetation or, where complex patterns occur, of identical size but irregular shape. Very small stands can be sampled in their entirety.
Aquatic communities
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S12 - Typha Latifolia Swamp Typhetum Latifoliae Soó 1927
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Summary
Synonymy
Esthwaite reedswamp Pearsall 1918 p.p.; Typhetum latifoliae and Typha latifolia consocies Tansley 1939; Typhetum angustifolio-latifoliae (Eggler 1933) Schmale 1939 p.p.; Scirpeto-Phragmitetum medioeuropaeum (Koch 1926) R.Tx. 1941 p.p.; Glycerio-Typhetum latifoliae Neuhäusl 1959 p.p.; Scirpetum lacustris Chouard 1924se«sw Passarge 1964 p.p.; Typha lat ifolia-Lemna minor sociation Spence 1964.
Constant species
Typha latifolia.
Rare species
Cicuta virosa.
Physiognomy
Typha latifolia is always dominant in the Typhetum latifoliae forming an open or closed cover of stout shoots usually 1-2 m tall. No other species is frequent throughout and pure stands are common.
Sub-communities
Typha latifolia sub-community: includes Typha latifolia-Lemna minor sociation Spence 1964 and Typha latifolia nodum Adam 1981. Here are included pure or very species-poor stands overwhelmingly dominated by a usually very tall and dense cover of T. latifolia. Associates are generally of low cover but particularly distinctive stands may be encountered with abundant floating Lemna minor or sprawling Solanum dulcamara, a low carpet of Agrostis stolonifera or scattered Aster tripolium.
Mentha aquqtica sub-community. The cover of T. latifolia is usually shorter and less dense in this subcommunity and beneath there is an understorey of Mentha aquatica, Galium palustre and Juncus effusus. Emergent Equisetum fluviatile and floating L. minoroccur occasionally and there is sometimes a little Epilobium hirsutum. Rare records for a wide variety of watermargin species make this the richest of the sub-communities.
Alisma plantago-aquatica sub-community: Typha latifolia stands Meres Survey 1980. Here, shorter and less dense T. latifolia is usually intermixed with some Sparganium erectum and/or Eleocharis palustris and, beneath, scattered plants of Alisma plantago-aquatica with occasional Ranunculus sceleratus and sprawls of Glyceriafluitans. L. minor is sometimes abundant on the water surface or over damp bare patches of substrate.
Carex rostrata sub-community. This sub-community comprises species-poor vegetation dominated by mixtures of T. latifolia and Carex rostrata. Many of the associates of the Mentha and Alisma sub-communities are absent but there is very occasional Menyanthes trifoliata and Potentilla palustris.
Habitat
The Typhetum latifoliae is most characteristic of standing or slow-moving, mesotrophic to eutrophic, circumneutral to basic waters with silty substrates. It is frequent around lowland lakes, ponds and reservoirs, along canals and dykes and in sluggish streams and also occurs very rarely on salt-marshes.
S14 - Sparganium Erectum Swamp Sparganietum Erecti Roll 1938
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Summary
Synonymy
Sparganium ramosum zone Walker 1905; Sparganium erectum society Spence 1964; Sparganium erectum reedswamp auct. angl.
Constant species
Sparganium erectum.
Rare species
Butomus umbellatus, Wolffia arrhiza.
Physiognomy
The Sparganietum erecti is generally dominated by Sparganium erectum which forms an open or closed cover of shoots about 1 m tall. Although pure and denser stands occur, there are usually some associates and certain of these can attain local prominence. The diversity and moderate species-richness of the vegetation are partly a reflection of the characteristic occurrence of the community in narrow open-water transitions where zonations are often contracted into jumbled mixtures but there are also some morphological and physiological features of the dominant which perhaps permit ready colonisation by other species. The underground organs of S. erectum comprises monopodial shoot-producing corms which, though bulky, are relatively short-lived (Cook 1961) and rhizomes which, though sometimes extensive, are much narrower than those of some other swamp dominants (Walker 1905, Cook 1961). The rather open and shifting network of buried organs and aerial shoots may thus leave patches of open water or substrate for invasion. Furthermore, although S. erectum thrives best in full sunlight (Cook 1961), it is shade-tolerant and will stand overtopping by other species, provided these are not too bulky. Indeed, elements of this community comprise one of the commonest synusial components of swamps under a variety of other dominants.
Sub-communities
Sparganium erectum sub-commuity. Here are included pure and very species-poor stands in which S. erectum is overwhelmingly dominant. There are sometimes floating or floating-leaved aquatics, notably duckweeds, on small areas of open water between the S. erectum shoots and Butomus umbellatus has been recorded in this vegetation.
Alisma plantago-aquatica sub-community. There may also be a patchy aquatic element in the more species-rich vegetation of this sub-community but the distinguishing feature is the occurrence, beneath and sometimes fronting the S. erectum, of an open and fragmentary understorey of species typical of shallow water margins, most frequently Alisma plantago-aquatica, sometimes with Callitriche stagnalis, Nasturtium officinale or Apium nodiflorum. Other swamp dominants, notably Typha angustifolia, and tall herbs such as Epilobium hirsutum or Urtica dioica may occur but these attain no more than local prominence, scattered plants or small clumps protruding above the bur-reed cover.
S17 - Carex Pseudocyperus Swamp
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Summary
Constant species
Carex pseudocyperus, Juncus effusus, Sparganium erectum.
Physiognomy
Carex pseudocyperus can form dense pure stands of emergent vegetation over 1 m tall but it often occurs intermixed with some Juncus effusus and Sparganium erectum, patchy Typha latifolia or Phragmites australis, swamp and fen herbs such as Mentha aquatica, Lycopus europaeus and Scutellaria galericulata and Arrhenatherion species in fragmentary jumbles along water margins.
Habitat
This vegetation is most typical of shallow, mesotrophic to eutrophic, standing or sluggish waters around lowland ponds, in dykes, canals and slow-moving rivers.
Zonation and succession
C. pseudocyperus swamp may form a zone in open water adjacent to Phragmitetum australis and occur as a raggy fringe between pasture and streams or ponds. It is also sometimes found in association with the rich-fen vegetation of the Peucedano-Phragmitetum.
Distribution
C. pseudocyperus swamp has a patchy distribution through the central and southern English lowlands and seems to be most characteristic of the Midlands. In East Anglia, C. pseudocyperus usually occurs as a component of rich fen rather than as a swamp species.
Affinities
This often fragmentary vegetation has rarely been noted as a distinct community but a separate category is retained here to include the swamp occurrences of C. pseudocyperus as distinct from those in fens such as the British Peucedano-Phragmitetum and similar communities described from The Netherlands (e.g. Westhoff & den Held 1969). C. pseudocyperus swamp has affinities with the freshwater vegetation dominated by C. otrubae and with the Sparganietum erecti.
List of Figures
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S1 - Carex Elata Swamp Caricetum Elatae Koch 1926
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Summary
Synonymy
Carex elata consocies Pearsall 1918; Open carr Pearsall 1918 p.p.; Carex elata associations Holdgate 1955b p.p.; Carex elata headwater fen community Haslam 1965; Association of Carex elata Pigott & Wilson 1978.
Constant species
Carex elata.
Rare species
Calamagrostis stricta.
Physiognomy
The Caricetum elatae comprises vegetation dominated by Carex elata, usually as prominent tussocks. These are up to 40 cm in diameter and height, occasionally taller in deeper water, are often closely up set with to 60 tussocks per 10 x 10 m (Wheeler 1975) and have a canopy of spreading leaves about 1 m long. The community is generally species-poor. Most frequently, there are taller herbaceous dicotyledons scattered around the tussocks and often rooted in the peaty stocks at or around waterlevel; among these, Cirsium palustre, Eupatorium cannabinum, Lycopus europaeus and Ranunculus lingua are the most frequent. Galium palustre and Solanum dulcamara sometimes form thick tangles of sprawling shoots. In areas of shallow water between the tussocks, scattered plants of Menyanthes trifoliata, Mentha aquatica, Potentilla palustris and Berula erecta may occur and, in deeper pools, there may be elements of floating-leaved or submerged aquatic vegetation. In deeper water, too, Cladium mariscus may be locally prominent, its clumps forming mosaics with the C. elata (Haslam 1965, Wheeler 1975). Occasionally, scattered shoots of Phragmites australis form a sparse cover.
The C. elata tussocks themselves, especially those which are less vigorous, form a distinctive support for epiphytic Hydrocotyle vulgaris, Epilobium palustre, Cardamine pratensis and (e.g. Holdgate 1955b) Filipendula ulmaria. Here, too, there may also be sparse wefts of Calliergon cuspidatum but, in general, bryophytes are rare.
Saplings of Salix cinerea or, in the north, 5. atrocinerea, are a frequent feature of the community. These seem to gain a hold mostly between the tussocks, on more open areas of bare organic matter (Haslam 1965, Pigott & Wilson 1978). Alnus glutinosa is a less frequent invader but it may be able to colonise the tussock tops.
Habitat
The community usually occurs as emergent vegetation in up to 40 cm of water in shallow pools and old peat cuttings, more fragmentarily in derelict ditches (Wheeler 1975) and sometimes as part of open-water transitions around larger water bodies (Pearsall 1918, Holdgate 1955b, Pigott & Wilson 1978).
Key to Aquatic Communities
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Summary
Much aquatic vegetation is relatively poor in species and many of the communities we have defined are overwhelmingly dominated by one or two taxa. In this case, in place of the usual dichotomous key or branching hierarchy of questions used elsewhere in the scheme, we have devised an alternative aid to identification of assemblages based on a synoptic table of species represented in the various vegetation types.
All sub-communities have been included in the table and those species diagnostic at frequency II or more rearranged in alphabetical order (Figure 5). As always, because the major distinctions between the communities and sub-communities are based on interstand frequency, this tabular key will work best where a number of samples of similar composition have been collected and made into a constancy table. It is the frequency values in this which should then be used to check for overall similarity with the vegetation types in the table.
Samples should always be taken from homogeneous stands and by2x2mor4x4m according to the scale of the vegetation or, where stands are narrow or of irregular form, of identical area but different shape. Small stands can be sampled in their entirety unless the vegetation is very fragmentary.
1 Lemnetum gibbae
2a Lemnetum minoris, Typical sub-community
2b Lemnetum minoris, Lemna trisulca sub-community
2c Lemnetum minoris, Riccia fluitans-Ricciocarpus natans sub-community
3 Spirodela polyrhiza-Hydrocharis morsus-ranae community
4 Hydrocharis morsus-ranae-Stratiotes aloides community
5a Ceratophylletum demersi, Ranunculus circinatus sub-community
5b Ceratophylletum demersi, Lemna minor sub-community
7a Nymphaetum albae, Species-poor sub-community
7b Nymphaetum albae, Juncus bulbosus-Potamogeton polygonifolius sub-community
8a Nuphar lutea community, Species-poor sub-community
8b Nuphar lutea community, Callitriche stagnalis-Zannichellia palustris sub-community
8c Nuphar lutea community, Nymphaea alba sub-community
8d Nuphar lutea community, Potemogeton obtusifolius-Juncus bulbosus sub-community
9a Potamogeton natans community, Species-poor sub-community
9b Potamogeton natans community, Elodea canadensis sub-community
9c Potamogeton natans community, Juncus bulbosus-Myriophyllum alterniflorum sub-community
10 Polygonum amphibium community
11a Potamogeton pectinatus-Myriophyllum spicatum community, Potamogeton pusillus sub-community
11b Potamogeton pectinatJs-Myriophyllum spicatum community, Elodea canadensis sub-community
11c Potamogeton pectinatus-Myriophyllum spicatum community, Potamogeton filiformis sub-community
12 Potamogeton pectinatus community
13a Potamogeton perfoliatus-Myriophyllum alterniflorum community, Potamogeton berchtoldii sub-community
13b Potamogeton perfoliatus-Myriophyllum alterniflorum community, Potamogeton filiformis sub-community
14 Myriophylletum alterniflori
15 Elodea canadensis community
16a Callitriche stagnalis community, Callitriche spp. sub-community 16b Callitriche stagnalis community, Potamogeton pectinatus sub-community
A18 - Ranunculusfluitans Community Ranunculetum Fluitantis Allorge 1922
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Summary
Synonymy
Moderate-moderately swift current vegetation Butcher 1933.
Constant species
Ranunculus fluitans.
Physiognomy
The Ranunculetum fluitantis comprises stands of submerged vegetation dominated by clumps of Ranunculus fluitans, sometimes numerous and close-set, in other cases few and sparse. It is generally a perennial plant, with individuals often long-lived though highly plastic in their morphology with just a few shoots, fairly short, in less congenial situations, but growing much more bushy and very long, up to 6 m, where conditions are more favourable, with the fine capillary foliage trailing downstream. Rarely, it can be found in an annual terrestrial form, with much-condensed shoots growing on moist ground (Cook 1966, Holmes 1979, Rich & Rich 1988). It is winter-green, with quite large populations of shoots persisting from one year to the next, but attains its maximum size early in the summer (Haslam 1978).
Few other plants occur with any frequency or abundance in denser stands, but there is sometimes a little Myriophyllum spicatum, M. alterniflorum or Potamogeton perfoliatus with patches of the mosses Fontinalis antipyretica or F. squamosa growing on submerged stones. Elodea canadensis, Lemna minor or L. gibba may occur in slacker waters, and there can be shoots of plants like Glyceria fluitans and Mentha aquatica trailing in from the margins.
Habitat
The Ranunculetum fluitantis is most characteristic of bigger moving waters, often with quite swift flow, and stable, stony beds, usually only moderately fertile and not very base-rich. It is virtually confined to England where it occurs most commonly in faster lowland streams and wide but not too spatey, rivers in the upland fringes.
R. fluitans needs considerable water movement to maintain good growth, and deeper channels, often of 1 m or more, are favoured (Haslam 1978). It will occasionally colonise sluggish waters in larger dykes and drains, though it rarely flowers in such situations (Holmes 1979), and it is very easily eroded from finer, soft substrates. It is much more frequent on consolidated beds, with gravel or pebbles, sometimes larger stones or boulders, and here it can gain a much firmer hold. The long, flexuose shoots, growing in streamlined clumps, offer little resistance to turbulence, and R. fluitans can extend into quite fast-flowing waters. It will persist even in torrents as sparse shoots but will not tolerate very spatey conditions, so in hill steams tends to be best developed in wider places where the bed is more stable.